Charter and Comcast have battled for the right to call themselves "America's top cable provider." Now, neither is close.

DirecTV agreed to buy the Dish satellite TV and Sling TV business for a nominal fee of $1, in exchange for taking on $9.75 billion of Dish debt. But DirecTV's deal announcement on Monday said the merger needs approval from Dish debt holders, who would see their investments devalued.

In this era of cord cutting the announced merger of DirecTV with Dish/Sling would result in 18 million subscribers, making it the largest pay-TV distributor

DirecTV and Dish Network are merging in an effort to combat their many streaming rivals. “DIRECTV operates in a highly

While both DirecTV and Dish have been losing customers to cord-cutting, combined they would have about 20 million subscribers, tops in the shrinking pay TV business. AT&T, which spun off DirecTV but retained 70% ownership in the satellite company, said it sold its stake to private-equity company TPG.

The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has been previously rumored, with headlines about reported talks popping up over the years. The two almost merged more than two decades ago, but the Federal Communications Commission blocked the deal, citing antitrust concerns.

DirecTV is acquiring DISH through a $9.75 billion debt exchange transaction. This deal, pending approval, would create a monopoly in the satellite television industry. Ironically, it would also contribute to the FCC's 5G buildout goals by rescuing EchoStar, the current owner of DISH, from bankruptcy.

DirecTV’s proposed takeover of rival Dish is an admission that the satellite-TV business is fading. Chief Executive Officer Bill Morrow has big ideas about what could come next.